*Names refer to the area where the music is first heard. Some tracks are heard in other areas that proceed the area in which it is first heard.

Special

Nitrome's first mobile game

Avatars

Avatars related to this game:

Unlockable avatars in this game:

Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, alternatively known as Ice Breaker iOS (when it was going to only be on the iOS platform), is a puzzle physics game released for iOS devices on June 20, 2013[1] and released for Android on Google Play on May 7th 2014 with an Amazon Appstore release on June 12th 2014.[2] The game's iOS version was published by Rovio.[3] Icebreaker A Viking Voyage is the fourth installment of the Ice Breaker series, retaining its core gameplay.

On May 14, 2013, Nitrome published an article, where Rovio, a Finnish entertainment company, announced that they were going to help Nitrome publish their iOS game, Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage, by featuring it in their new mobile game publishing initiative, Rovio Stars.

The game's Amazon Appstore release was delayed due to issues with that particular app store[4]. Nitrome has not declined the possibility of porting to the game to other devices.

Plot

Ice Breaker: A Viking Voyage begins with Icebreaker, the main character, who wishes to be like his idol, the Cutting Master. Icebreaker then joins the annual Hammerfest Icebreaking Contest created by the Village Chief, a person who will turn the winner of the contest into a 'professional' icebreaker. When the contest begins, Icebreaker gets his first chance to meet his idol.

Proving that Icebreaker was able to complete the contest, the Village Chief gathered other Vikings and The Cutting Master to his ceremony taking place at the dock's windmill, awarding Icebreaker his trophy of completing the contest. As the village chief went into the windmill to get Icebreaker's trophy, a strong snowy wind blew the Vikings off the dock and towards other places, like Troll Marsh and Under Dwell. Icebreaker grabbed tightly onto his hammer, rooting him onto the ground so he does not get blown away. By the time the village chief came out of the windmill, he saw that all Vikings except Icebreaker was left. The village chief then chose Icebreaker to save the Vikings blown away by the wind, starting his quest of the game.

As the quest goes on, Icebreaker will stumble into different kinds of obstacles, such as side quests and toll gates. Upon reaching various toll gates owned by the Gate Keeper, he demands a fee for letting players into different levels.

This navigational box contains a spoiler. Click [show] to open the box.

When the viking arrives at the end of the Troll Marsh, he encounters the Mountain Troll. Upon defeating him, the Village Chief directs him towards Under Dwell, where other vikings are stuck at.

The Viking arrives at Under Dwell in order to locate more of his fellow vikings. The quest continues as Icebreaker goes through more obstacles and side quests. He also meets new characters, such as the Skull and the Blacksmith. The Gate Keeper is also in the Under Dwell, where he continues to charge Icebreaker for passage to additional levels.

This navigational box contains a spoiler. Click [show] to open the box.

At the end of Under Dwell, some vikings are encountered trapped in a cage that is dangerously close to one of the Skull's "attractions", the serpent. After the Icebreaker defeats the serpent, him and the vikings escape Under Dwell, only to be taken in by the Kraken.

After completing the serpent boss, it is revealed that the Chief is actually a two headed troll, and he was the one that had caused the large wind that blew all the vikings away. The two faces seem to be conflicted, as they argue with each other.

After escaping Under Dwell, the Icebreaker gets eaten by the Kraken. In order to escape, him and the vikings have to navigate through the Kraken and attempt to find an exit. Along the way, characters that the Icebreaker had met previously, such as the Gate Keeper, the Skull and the Blacksmith,are also encountered inside the Kraken.

This navigational box contains a spoiler. Click [show] to open the box.

Around halfway through the Kraken levels, it is revealed that the Two-headed Troll had fed the Kraken hand rocks in order to control it like a puppeteer, although this act unintentionally helps the Icebreaker retrieve the lost vikings.

The Icebreaker reaches the brain of the Kraken. After defeating the Kraken, he floats back outside in a bubble. Behind him is a large hand rock, which was also encased in a bubble. The Chief is waiting on an island, surprised to see the Icebreaker. The bubble that was carrying the hand rock had burst right on top of the chief, squishing him. A number of other items also squish him. The Icebreaker then lands safely on the island.

Gameplay

The objective of each level of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage is to rescue all the Vikings by safely bringing them back to the Drakkar. Scattered throughout levels are coins, which can be paid to a Gate Keeper on the overworld map in order to access other levels.

Some levels contain certain interactive objects that appear only in that level - called "Set Pieces". Along with levels mostly comprising of ice, the player has to make use of other objects in the level in order to get the Vikings safely to the Drakkar. Each level of Icebreaker contains a par number. If the player completes the level with a certain number of cuts that is equal or less than the par number, they achieve par, pars going towards accessing new levels in the Hammerfest level pack.

Level navigation

The full map from the second pack.

Level selection will be done on an explorable map, with a boat icon as a marker for the player's selection.[6] Tapping a location on the map causes the boat to make its way towards the selected location. Tapping the same area or the "Play" button initiates the start of the level. When a level is accessed, the name of the level is displayed along with a few indicators below.

The map is designed to be integrated into the Icebreaker gaming experience, based off map systems from 16-bit platformers such as the Super Mario Games.[7]

Completion

If a level is locked, its icon blends in with the background of the map as a drawing. It is coloured in only when the player completes the level corresponding to that icon.

Completion of a level unlocks the level on the current path that comes after the completed level. Some paths of the map split into two separate paths that will unlock two levels simultaneously.

Completing sidequests gives a golden puzzle piece, granting access to another part of the map that is attached to that level. This part of the map is only accessible through the completion of this part of the sidequest.

Level packs

Nitrome revealed in their first Developer Diary that Ice Breaker iOS/Android will consists of level packs, each pack containing levels for the player to play. Three packs were included with the first release of the game, with more free[8] level packs to come.

When a level is selected, the screen will transition to show the name of the level and its "indicators".

Sidequests

Some levels have multiple objectives, called sidequests. These levels will not only have the objective of getting the Vikings back to a longboat, but also secondary objectives, such as also getting a Goat Herder's lost goats back to the Goat Herder's longboat. Completing the sidequest is not necessary to proceed to the next level, however, a golden puzzle piece will be awarded if the sidequest's alternate objective (the actual sidequest) is completed. This golden puzzle piece will only be kept if the player completes the level's sidequest and regular objective (rescue all vikings).

Some levels themselves are sidequests, though they are not presented on the map with this title. The only way the player would be able to complete the "sidequest" is to experiment with the game's given environment and "[solve] puzzles that might not initially be apparent"[9]

Achievements

Nitrome announced on August 7 2013 that achievements would soon be added to Icebreaker A Viking Voyage. Achievements are earned by completing challenges set by a new character, the Watcher. The watcher sets challenges by placing sign posts that are scattered throughout the levels. The signs have a balloon on them and, when sliced, will reveal a ringing bell and a new challenge. This system can be used across multiple levels, or in one level alone.

The achievements will be recorded in Game Center (iOS) or Google Play Games (Android), but they are also integrated into the game. This means they will still function even if Game Center or Google Play Games is not used. The achievements will be recorded in the game by the Watcher, who operates an airship the player can visit at any time during the game and check on the list of achievements they have earned and ones they have not yet earned.

Game components

Set Pieces

Set Pieces are placed within levels as a sometimes crucial part of the game. These are essentially a type of interactive object designed for use in a single level.

Due to the word choice, there was some misunderstanding of the words' definition. [10] Nitrome said that in the fourth update, set pieces demonstrate their ability to make puzzles more engaging to players with the use of graphics designed specifically for each stage.

Bosses

The head of the Mountain Troll vomiting out liquid

Icebreaker A Viking Voyage will feature bosses found at the end of each map pack. Bosses will appear in a level, and have to be defeated in order to complete the level, as the level is usually configured in such a way that the rescue of a Viking is tied to the defeat of the boss.

Interactive objects

This is a list of all the currently known interactive objects in Icebreaker A Viking Voyage.

Troll snot - an object that debuts in Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage. Troll snot is a slimy object that attaches itself to ice. Ice that passes this will cause a gooey strand of the snot to attach to the ice, this strand being able to be cut

Cannons - objects that fire spherical objects that come in contact with it - including Vikings. Two types of cannons exist, although it isn't apparent what is different between the two

In app purchases

There are two types of in app purchases: God Powers and early level pack unlocks, which cost money outside of the game. God Powers can either be bought in a single pack with a certain number of one type of God Power to use, or in a pack with a certain number of all three god powers.

In order for all Nitromians to test out the God Powers, there is a level in the game for each God Power where the player is given a free God Power to use in the level. [11]

Early level pack unlocks allow the player to unlock a level pack before completing the last level of the previous pack.

Game versions

Nitrome released two versions of Icebrekaer A Viking Voyage: an iOS version (which has two versions) and an Android version.

Nitrome has denied[12] the possibility of making a free version of the game that had fewer levels[13] and just ads[13], explaining the negative impact this would have on paid downloads[14] and the high volume of downloads necessary to make a profit from the in-game ads.[13]

iOS

The iOS version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was the version that Nitrome began developing the game for. This version was released on June 20th 2013, and was originally released in two versions: a regular version, and an HD version. Achievements for the game are connected to Game Center.

The regular version is the regular version of the game, while the HD contains several added benefits unrelated to gameplay. The HD version was later made the game's universal version.

iPhone version

The iPhone version, previously the regular version of the game, was made for iPhones and iPod Touchs and is compatible with iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and also and iPod Touch 5th Generation, iPod Touch 4th Generation, and iPod Touch 3rd Generation.

The iPhone version of the game contains the full game with no special changes. Currently, even though a universal version exists, the iPhone-only version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage is still present completely for compatibility with updates, as removing the iPhone-only version would result in purchasers of this version not getting any free updates.[15]

Universal version

The Universal version of the game, previously referred to as the HD version, was initially created for iPads, compatible with iPad 1, iPad 2, and the New iPad[16], though it was later made the Universal version of the Icebreaker A Viking Voyage app.

This version contains more detailed sprites, no borders[17], the ability to transfer the game to other iOS devices along with its saves[18], and is priced higher.

When the game was first released on June 20 2013, a regular version (now the iPhone version) and HD version (meant for iPads) was released. On April 8th, 2014, Nitrome updated the HD version with Universal compatibility[19], allowing the game to be playable on both iPhone and iPad devices[15]. Along with this, the HD version had compatibility added that allowed for it to transfer it saves to other iOS devices.

Updates

Version 1.0.0

Version 1.0 is the first version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage, this version released on June 20th 2013 (the day the game was released for iPhone). This version contains the game's first three maps (Hammerfest, Troll Marsh, and Under Dwell), and 95 levels.

Version 1.1.0

Released on October 15th 2013, this version adds Achievements to the game. Along with this, during start of level or end of level dialogue, the skip button completely skips all dialogue for that part of the level.

Version 1.2.0

This version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was released on May 7th 2014. Released in this update was the Kraken level pack, eight avatars which can be unlocked in the player's Nitrome account, and bug fixes. Cloud saving was also added, but only for the HD version.[20]

Version 1.2.1

This version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was released on June 2nd 2014. The update fixed an issue which prevented the game from running on iOS 5.1 with other minor bug fixes.

Version 1.3.0

This version saw a release on September 25th 2014. This updates rewards players with free God Powers daily, as an added thank you for downloading the game. Also, for those who downloaded the game when it was free for Apple's Free App of the week, ads are displayed.

Along with this, a few minor adjustments were made to the game. One of these adjustments was for Krakenlevel 3 Caviar, where the par limit was increased from 2 cuts to 3 due to complaints from many Nitromians regarding the precision required to to get par, which was in some cases impossible to get on some iPhones due to the size of the screen. [21]

Version 1.3.1

Released on May 20th, 2015, for the Universal version only, this update removes ads for those who downloaded the game when it was Free App of the Week, fixes iCloud saving, and adds 64bit support for the latest iOS devices.

Android

The Android version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage is a port of the iOS version, and was released on the Google Play store on May 7th, 2014, and on the Amazon Appstore on June 12th 2014, with a Canadian release on June 13th, 2014. The game's achievements for the Google Play version are connected to Google Play Games.

Compatibility

In order for the Android version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage to run, the Android device that runs it has to have three things. These specifications were spoken about by Nitrome in a blog post on the Nitrome blog. These specifications are:

The device has to have a screen resolution of 480 x 320 pixels[22] or higher.

Version 1.0.1

Version 1.0.2

Released on May 14th 2014 on Google Play, this update fixed common bugs.

Version 1.0.23

This version was released on the Amazon Appstore and fixes some bugs in that version.

Free downloadable content

Nitrome has stated that they will be able to release free content for players of Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage, if they get enough money from sales of the game. Nitrome has stated that this "free content" will be extra level packs[8], more achievements[8] (which have not yet been revealed), and "any other cool stuff we [Nitrome] can think of"[8].

The following content was released for free to buyers of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage for iOS, and included for free in the Android version.

Avatars

The Free Avatars option on the menu screen.

Eight Icebreaker related avatars were included in the Kraken pack update on May 7, 2014 as an appreciation gift to fans who have purchased the game. An option to receive the avatars is on the main navigation screen after the Kraken option. This icon shows a Viking avatar emerging from a pink gift box. By selecting the icon, the device's browser will load, displaying a screen with the profiles module. The user can then log into their account to receive the eight avatars. Only users with access to the app can obtain the avatars.[28]

App price

Regular price

Sales

The release of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage for Android on May 7th was celebrated with the game being put on sale for an undetermined amount of time, the game's price being $0.99 US/£0.69. This sale was done so that Nitrome would appear on charts that track app sales and for people to impulse buy[29]. The very next day, Nitrome put the iOS HD version on sale as well, the app's price dropping to $1.99 US/£1.49. The Amazon Appstore version was also put on sale.

On September 29th, 2015, the game's was put on sale again and available for $0.99 US/£0.79, but only via App Zapp[30].

Nitrome Tweeted on October 1st, 2015, that the game had been put on sale by Apple, the game's price dropping to $0.99 US/£0.79[31].

Android

The pop up image

The Android version was released on May 7th 2014, and was celebrated with the release of the Kraken skin. Along with this, a pop up image very similar to the one in the iOS version appeared for those who accessed Nitrome.com. This image remained mostly the same as the iOS version, only with art from the Kraken level pack, links to the game's Google Play and Amazon Appstore page, and a slightly green coloured ribbon and medal.

To celebrate the game's Android release, Nitrome put the Android version on sale for $0.99 US instead of the regular price of $2.99. Due to technical problems with the Amazon Appstore, the Amazon Appstore release was delayed.[4] Similar to the days leading up the iOS release, the upper left advertisement spot of the site sometimes displayed an advertisement that featured the Android robot, with a number stating how many days are left until the game is released.

Previews

Throughout the course of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage' development, Nitrome has revealed various features as well as screenshots through entries on their site specifically created for A Viking Voyage. Each of these are logged in two categories: Developer Diaries and Updates.

The game's levels are viewed in landscape mode when played on the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch 5[34].

The iPhone's lacking retina display (older iPhones, iPhone 3s and iPhone 3rd Generation) will show the game with the less detailed sprites than the retina supporting versions (sprites such as scenery, characters, etc.). These sprites will be scaled down for the non-retina iPhones. As some sprites did not look very good scaled, Nitrome has "purposely redrawn" some of the sprites for the scaled down tablets.

The sprites used for the "scale down" tablets are used on the map of the game, regardless of what Apple tablet is is played on. This is because smaller sprites are needed for the map icons. It is not known if there are any sprite changes for the Android version.

Art

Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage features much greater art than the previous three games in the series. The art is noticeably more detailed and shaded, and introduces elements such as shiny helmets. Update 6 on the Ice Breaker iOS website was about the transition Nitrome made. Nitrome talked about they first tried to develop an art style that was based off the existing Ice Breaker game (Ice Breaker, Red Clan, Gathering).

Nitromes early on aimed at trying to make characters and objects a certain size as to not affect the gameplay and environment, as these sprites would eventually make it into the game, where they may be go through tight areas. Along with this, they tried to keep the sprites interesting without becoming distracting.

As seen from concept art of the game, some objects went through many iterations, while others only a few. Notably the skull bird creature went through many different designs, evolving from a horned rock shaped beast to a Cave Troll.

Despite Nitrome's attempt to use all the characters they converted from their flash version to the mobile Icebreaker version, some characters that were converted were not able to make it into the game. An example is the Valkyrie, who, although being given a new look, was cut from the game.

Development

Development of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage started in 2012 for about eighteen months[35] at a time when Nitrome.com was getting less revenue from advertisements.[36] The game was created as an attempt for Nitrome to combat piracy of their own games, particularly illegal ports being uploaded to the App Store.[37] Nitrome earlier stated Super Feed Me was taking a very long time, and starting a new project which Nitrome would be more focused on would allow them to more quickly get a game out on to the App Store.[37] Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was unveiled to the Nitrome community on July 12th 2012[38], where it was 80% complete.
[39] Icebreaker reached 85% completeness on August 17th 2012[40], reaching 90% completeness sometime in December 2012.[41]

Although Nitrome had originally decided to publish the game themselves and not rely on a publisher[42] - and even turned down offers from other publishers beforehand[42] - Nitrome accepted Rovio's publishing offer based off Rovio's reputation[42]. This new partnership was established around a year into the game's development[42], and was publicly announced on May 14th 2013[43]. On June 17th 2013, Nitrome announced that Icebreaker A Viking Voyage had been submitted to the iTunes App store and had been approved, and was scheduled for release on June 20th 2013.[44].

Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage was released for iOS a day early in the Finish app store (June 19th), for the purpose of checking for bugs.[45] Upon the worldwide release of Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage, the site was updated with a new skin - Icebreaker.

With the release and success of the iPhone version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage, Nitrome later announced on July 23rd 2013 that an Android port of the game was in development.[46] The start of an Android port caused Nitrome to form two teams for development of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage - one team (called the "iOS team"[47]) that would work on new features for the game[47], the game's level packs[47], and the iOS version of the game[47], and another team which would work on the Android version[47] (called the "Android team"[47]), this team working on making the iOS version of the game and the game's features compatible with Android, coupled with working on the Android port of the game. Along with this, Nitrome hired a proper testing team to test the various builds of the Android port of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage for bugs[48]

The Android port of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage took around 9 months to make[49], Nitrome having to deal with various problems the game would have across many type of Android tablets, some of these problems being adjusting the game to the various resolutions and screen sizes of Android, as the original iOS build of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage had only two levels of scaling, which would be insufficient for the large variety of Android tablets[50]. Along with the game planned to be compatible with a wealth of devices that use the Google Play store, Nitrome also planned a version of the game for the Amazon App store that will be compatible with Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD[51], and Kindle Fire HDX[27], this version released on the same day as the Google Play version[51]. August 7th 2013 saw the announcing of Achievements and that development of the next level pack had started,[52] more information about the level pack announced the next day[53]. These Achievements were released on October 17th 2013 in the 1.1 update for the iOS Icebreaker A Viking Voyage, this update fixing a few bugs present in the original game.[54]

Nitrome announced on December 27th 2013 their plans for a simultaneous release of both the upcoming 1.2 update for the iOS version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage and the Android version[55]. This update for the iOS version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage would contain the new level pack (Kraken), new missions for Achievements[56], and would also be released simultaneously alongside the Android version of the game[55], which would also include Achievements[52] and all the content included in the iOS update[57]. Along with this, the iOS version would be updated to support cloud saving[55] (the Android version, due to being released at the same time, also having this cloud saving[55]). In April 2014, a decision was made between Nitrome and Rovio to transfer Icebreaker A Viking Voyage from the Rovio Stars' account to Nitrome's account, this allowing Nitrome to maintain and update the game at their leisure.[58]

Transfer of the HD version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was successful, and around this time Nitrome also made the HD version Universal, removing its iPad exclusivity and allowing iPhones and iPod Touches to download the game[19]. Despite success transferring the HD version, technical problems were encountered with the iPhone version[59]. Because one of the in-app purchase IDs in the Icebreaker A Viking Voyage game conflicted with an in-app purchase ID of the same name on Nitrome's account, the transfer for the iPhone version failed and inadvertently caused in-app purchases for the iPhone version to not be purchasable[60]. Despite Nitrome's attempts to remedy the situation, they eventually had to reach out to Apple for help.[61] During this unfortunate event, the Android build of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was completed and ready for submission to Google Play and the Amazon App store, along with the update for the iOS versions ready for submission to Apple[62].

Due to the current transfer problem, the iOS update would not be received by current owners of the game if Nitrome decided to upload a new build of the game to their iTunes account instead of waiting for the game to transfer[63] . Because of this, and Nitrome still wanting to have a simultaneous release for both the iOS update and Android version[64], the Android version was deliberately held back from submission to Google Play and the Amazon App Store until the transfer problem was solved[64]. Fortunately, this problem with transferring the game was resolved on April 17th 2014[65], and it was on this same day that Nitrome submitted the Android version of the game to Google Play and the Amazon App Store and the iOS update to the iTunes store.[65] Both the Android version and iOS update were approved by April 25th, on this day Nitrome announcing the Android version and iOS update were scheduled for a May 7th release.[66] The May 7th release saw Nitrome successfully releasing the Android version on Google Play, but due to technical difficulties having to delay the release of the Amazon Appstore version on the said appstore.[4] Fortunately, this version saw a release on June 12th 2014[2], which caught Nitrome off guard[67].

Apple offered Nitrome the opportunity of Free App of the Week, which Nitrome accepted. This promotion ran from August 27th to September 5th 2014, and allowed Nitrome to spread their brand to a new audience.[68]

Beta elements

Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage contains an enormous amount of content that did not make it into the final game. Most of this is usually content relating to early images of a level, although sometimes complete characters were renamed, unused, or taken out of the game.

Icebreaker A Viking Voyage has received positive to universal acclaim, garnering on Metacritic an average "Critic Score" (average score determined by several professional reviews) of 87[69]. John Bardinelli of Jay is Games described the game as "polished and easy to play" and "an absolute juggernaut of a game", praising the game's dialogue, art, and level diversity.[79]

Rob Rich of 148 Apps awarded the game an "Editor's Choice" award, also praising the game's humour and art, along with the diverse gameplay and clever level design, awarding the game an overall score of 4.5 out of 5, concluding his review stating "I’m not entirely sure that I could be any happier with Icebreaker. It’s an incredibly fun, incredibly diverse, and incredibly clever physics puzzler."[75]

Icebreaker A Viking Voyage has been praised for its graphics, Andrew Koziara of Appolicious describing it as "fantastic, with a muted color palate and a somewhat pixelated look that adds a retro feel to the otherwise modern 2-D visuals."[80], John Bardinelli of Jay is Games commenting how the pixel art "looks gorgeous on an iPhone/iPad's screen.".[79] A few reviewers have likened the game's graphics to looking similar to that of graphics on Nintendo's SNES.[81][82]

The game has also been praised for its humour, Slide To Play stating in its conclusion how the game can be "uproariously funny at times"[78], Pocket Gamer also highlighting game's humour as being "Not occasionally-laugh-out-loud funny, but constant-smirk-on-your-face funny.". The most praised part of Icebreaker has been its gameplay, which has consistently been praised for its diversity as well as it managing to fit so much into a single game mechanic.

Criticism of the game has been mainly aimed at the game's occasional inconsistent physics, Trevor Sheridan of Apple'N'Apps describing this as "many levels miss fine tuning to the point that boulders can get stuck, ice can fall through gaps, and Vikings can slow down on a slide...you have to replay a level with the same technique, and just hope one of these stumbles doesn’t happen". Erik Carlson of Slide To Play called the physics "a tricky widget to overcome sometimes", citing how a single strategy for a level can be drastically altered by one's finger being off by a very short distance, and also how one's finger can "very easily cover up what you’re supposed to be doing in order to be successful".[78]

Another criticism of the game was two finger scrolling, Nadia Oxford of Gamezebo calling it "very awkward at times"[72] and Rob Rich of 148 apps stating that it was "problematic at times" when trying to avoid going over par.[75]

Sales

Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was the #1 iPhone app in the US and UK on June 20th 2013, along with the #1 iPad app in the UK, and #2 iPad app in the US, along with being the #1 app in many other territories.[83]

Nitrome has spoken about how the sales of Icebreaker on the Amazon App Store have been very poor, though they have said how the problems with launching it may have impacted sales. [84] Later on, Nitrome continued to still not gain much revenue from its Amazon App Store apps - Icebreaker A Viking Voyage and 8bit Doves - which points to Icebreaker A Viking Voyage continuing to sell poorly on this platform.[85]

Awards

Bundle

A three game bundle consisting of Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, Gunbrick mobile, and 8bit Doves was offered on the Apple App Store on January 29 2015.[86]

Promotions

On iOS Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was made free from August 27th 2014 to September 5th 2014 by Apple as Free App of the week.[68] Users who downloaded the game got the entire game for free, although the next update for the app caused advertisements to appear for those who had downloaded the free version.

At some point in 2014 on the Amazon App Store the game was made "Free App of the Day"[85].

The game was again made free on iOS for a limited time starting on December 28 2014, as part of App Turbo's "App of the Day".[87]

On June 26th, 2015, Pocket Gamer and App Spy gave out on App Spy's Twitch channel an iOS download code for Icebreaker A Viking Voyage, along with four other games, as part of Free Game Friday[88].

Porting to other devices

Nitrome has not declined the possibility of porting Icebreaker A Viking Voyage to other devices. Nitrome has stated that the sales of the game from the Android version will influence whether the game gets ported to other devices[89], as poor sales of the Android version will severely hinder the game being ported to other devices[89].

Porting the game has been made difficult, as early on when the game was in development for iPhone, Nitrome did not anticipate they would be porting it to other devices.[90] When porting the game to another device, much work has to be done to get the game working on a different screen size[90]. New game assets have to be made[90], and some coding for the game needs to be rewritten entirely in order for it to work on that device[90], such as how the edges of ice are rendered[90].

PC

A computer version of the game in the form of a paid download[89] will be considered in the future[89], though Nitrome has declined the possibility of making a free flash/HTML5 version of the game[91]. Nitrome has previously stated that if making a port of the game, a PC/Mac port would next[92].

Other mobile phones

Although Nitrome will be considering porting the game to other phone devices[89], they have not specified which.

Nintendo 3DS

For a Nintendo 3DS port of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage, a lot of new content for already existing content would have to be made[89], such as having to resize the game's art for the Nintendo 3DS screen[90] and reprogram the dimensions for both art and levels[89][90], as the Nintendo 3DS's screen has vastly different ratios than iPhone[90], along with a smaller screen[89].

A new way for scrolling through levels would have to be found[90], as the Nintendo 3DS has a resistive touch screen capable of only registering a single touch at a time, unlike the iPhone which can register multiple touches at a time. Another problem for a Nintendo 3DS port would be what the top screen would be used for[90], as the bottom screen would have to be used for the ice slicing.

In-game advertisements

The presence of advertisements in Icebreaker A Viking Voyage has changed over time. Originally, ads were included in exchange for advertizing in other Rovio games, though the ads in Icebreaker A Viking Voyage were dropped once ownership of the game was transferred from Rovio to Nitrome, later being reinstated for those who downloaded the game during Apple's Free App of the Week.

Rovio published

Upon its release, Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was published by Rovio. Rovio publishing the game allowed Nitrome to put advertising for Angry Birds in the game (specifically, in the pause menu), in exchange for advertising in Angry Birds. This attracted criticism as Nitrome had previously said that there would be no ads in the game, however, Nitrome later clarified that their "comments about their being no ads"[93] meant that there would be no "content unrelated to any party making the game"[93] (Nitrome's definitions of ads[93]), and that what was considered "ads" by fans were actually "promotions"[93].

Post Rovio publishing

When ownership of the game was transferred from Rovio to Nitrome, ads were presumably removed or replaced with Nitrome ones in the iOS version of the game. Because the Android version came after this ownership transfer, there was no change in the ads for the Android version.

Free app of the week ads

Icebreaker A Viking Voyage becoming Free App of the Week from August 27th to September 5th 2014 allowed those who had not yet bought the app to download it for free. Though the free version was identical to the premium version, this was changed in the next update, which caused (among other changes) ads to appear for those who downloaded the free version. The presence of these ads was something Nitrome was trying out on those who downloaded the free version[94] in order to test out the feasibility of free games with advertisements[95].

In late January 2015, when Nitrome was asked about these advertisements they said that they were undecided on what to do with them, as although they planned to put out an update that adds an in-app purchase to remove them[96], they did consider doing away with advertisements completely due to their initial experimental function[95].

↑Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage website - Updates - Update #11 God Powers → Turn this power on and all the important elements of the level will be placed in a handy bubble. These bubbles are affected by the tilt of the phone...we had to get motion controls in there somewhere right ;) Gimmicky? Sure! Useful? Definitely!

We are going to use the money to buy a giant squid for our office (we've always dreamt of having one of those).

I'm kidding of-course, the money would go towards making free updates for Icebreaker. More level packs, achievements and any other cool stuff we can think of.

↑Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage - Updates - Update #1 "Sidequests" → Some side quests will only be discovered by experimenting with the surroundings and solving puzzles that might not initially be apparent.

↑Ice Breaker iOS.com - Updates - Update #4 "Set Pieces": We [Nitrome] noticed a few people pulled this from our features list and questioned, what we meant by it?

↑ 13.013.113.213.3Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome:
Icebreaker: Good and Bad news!: It's not the same...we would not make enough money from ads and it would harm paid downloads. Consider that you need 100-1000 free downloads with ads to make the same money as a single paid download. Unlike Nitrome.com we do not control the landing page of the app stores., 19 February 2014, retrieved 25 April 2014.

↑Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome:
Icebreaker: Good and Bad news!: A lot of people would part with the money to try an app but when they get the free demo they don't finish it and are essentially satisfied with that and you lose a sale, 19 February 2014, retrieved 25 April 2014.

↑ 17.017.1Nitrome on Twitter:
[1]: the cheaper one is iphone only. The other is iPad and IPhone. There are no borders on iPad and there are visual tweaks., 9 Jan 14, retrieved 9Jan 14.

↑Nitrome on Facebook:
Nitrome: Get Icebreaker...: It depends, if you bought the Universal version then yes. If you bought the iPhone/iPod only version then sorry but no.In response to Adam Lapidus:I asked you via PM on your Nitrome account, but didn't get a response. If I bought this on the iPhone, is there a way to transfer it to my iPad without paying a 2nd time?, 8 May 2014, retrieved 8 May 2014.

↑ 19.019.119.2Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome:
Where is the Icebreaker Update?: On a more positive note, we have made the HD version universal so now iPad users can also play Icebreaker on their iPhone and iPods... nice!, 8 April 2014, retrieved 25 April 2014.

↑Nitrome on Twitter:
[2]: @DevikSchack @dav9000 only the HD version will have cloud saving., 29 April 2014, retrieved 29 April 2014.

↑Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome:
Endless Doves??? → Comment by Nitrome: On some devices it seemed impossible to do and involved a lot of luck. We had a relatively large a mount of people mention it so it seemed worth fixing., 30 Sep 2014, retrieved 1 Oct 2014.

↑Nitrome blog: - Icebreaker Update: Android News! → The same goes for screen dimensions...if you have less than 480 x 320 pixels then it was too hard to cater for sorry.

↑Nitrome blog: - Icebreaker Update: Android News! → The other things that affect the support of your device are the processor. We only support arm7 devices (which is the same as the iOS build).

↑Game Developer's Blog - NitromeIcebreaker Avatars incoming!, response to user Quick by Nitrome: [3] - Sorry no you won't. It was always going to be difficult to reward the people who supported us without annoying people who don't have phones.

↑Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome:
Icebreaker **SALE** → Comment by Nitrome: The main reason for the sale was to gain chart position as a lot of sites and apps track sales which leads to new downloads. It also makes people impulse buy which we want as ideally we want again a lot of people to buy now and make us chart., 8 May 2014, retrieved 8 May 2014.

↑ 34.034.1Ice Breaker iOS website: Update 3.1 - With the recent unveiling of the iPhone 5 and the new iPod Touch we get yet another screen size to support… Yay! ...The game is played in landscape mode [on an iPod Touch 5 and iPhone 5]...

↑ 37.037.137.2Touch Arcade - Icebreaker - a viking voyage! by Nitrome → #9: Nitrome: ...we have been getting other games ripped off all the time in the app store. We decided that the best way to both tackle this and to get something on the store was to work on a more focused release that we were likely to finish in a more realistic timeframe that we could stick to. That project is Icebreaker...

↑Updates | Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage → Developer Diary #2: Hi all, just a quick update on our progress with Icebreaker. We have updated the progress bar to 90 percent! Woohoo, Not long to go now! ...The boss ended up taking a lot of time and we haven’t got the trailer yet... [as this post references the trailer that was released on December 13th 2012, this shows that Developer Diary was released before December 13th 2012]

↑Timeline Photos | FacebookComment (Nitrome):Yes it had a light launch in Finland a day early to double check there were no bugs before going out for proper launch tomorrow! It seems to be doing very well in the Finish App Store so fingers crossed that's a good sign for the global launch

↑Icebreaker Update: Android News! → Beyond this there is a proper testing team hired that go through everything we do with a fine tooth comb so even more devices are tested on beyond what we have in the office.

↑ 51.051.151.2Nitrome blog:Icebreaker Update: Kindle News!: "We are of course bringing it to the Google Play store but those of you out there with Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD need not fret as we have you covered too! That's right we will also be bringing Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage to the Amazon App store at the same time as Google Play!"

will the android version have the new update on release or will android users have to wait even more for it?

↑Nitrome blog: - Where is the Icebreaker Update? → Not many of you probably noticed but Icebreaker HD (the iPad version) is now on the Nitrome account rather than the Rovio Stars one on the App Store. The decision to transfer Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage from Rovio Stars to Nitrome was mutual. At this point of the game’s life cycle it made financial sense for both Rovio and Nitrome to transfer the future updates and upkeep of the game to Nitrome. The decision was a mutual win-win.

↑Nitrome blog: - Where is the Icebreaker Update? → Two final things that need mentioning. In-app-purchases are currently not working in the iPhone build of the game (the none [sic] HD version). This is to do with us trying to transfer the game and will be fixed as soon as we do transfer it.

↑Nitrome blog: - Where is the Icebreaker Update? → We have been in communication directly with Apple about the issue for around a week and a half and are waiting for one of their engineers to review the situation.

↑Nitrome blog: - Where is the Icebreaker Update? → The good news is that Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage update is ready for submission on iOS and Android. [The fact it is ready for submission on Android implies the Android version is complete and ready for submission to Google Play and the Amazon App Store]

↑Nitrome blog: - Where is the Icebreaker Update? → If we uploaded a new build of the game to our account, current owners would not get the upcoming free update.

↑Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome:
8bit Doves... AGAIN! → Comment by Nitrome: Icebreaker sold awful on the platform [Amazon App Store] though but then it probably hurt sales a lot that we had so many problems getting it live which meant it launched pretty much unnoticed., 11 August 2014, retrieved 11 August 2014.

↑ 89.089.189.289.389.489.589.689.789.8Nitrome's Facebook page - Comment by Nitrome:"But if we made it for windows phone how would we fit another logo in that icon window!! Only joking we are going to consider expanding to both other phone devices and desktop (paid download) versions in the future too but one thing at a time and we really can only consider it if it looks viable. If it flops on Android then the chances of it going further will be a lot slimmer."

There is a little bit of having to make new assets but mainly it is about getting the game to work across a lot of different screen sizes. It was hard because it was really never considered at the beginning. Some parts need to be rewritten entirely like the way we rendered the ice edges. Just to pick up on the 3DS point. In order to make that work we would have to reprogram all the dimensions and resize all the art. We would have to deal with a very different screen ratio and deal with the lack of two finger support for scrolling. I also belive the two screens would be a problem...we would have to use the bottom smaller screen as we need touch but what would we put on the top one? This is all just thinking of the problem out load. The big problem is that there just aren't that many of us at Nitrome and we have limited revenue to spread between projects. In an ideal world we would port to everything but we want to move on and make new things too.

↑Nitrome blog: - Icebreaker Coming to Android! → Comment by Nitrome (image):It's not coming as a free flash game...sorry but there is just not the money there in online ads to support doing that and the conversion would be very expensive to produce as its a totally different language the game is written in. A PC/mac version for paid download might happen at some point though.

↑Nitrome blog: - Icebreaker Coming to Android! → Comment by Nitrome (image):It's already on iPhone/iPod touch and iPad. We may bring it to further formats in the future most likely PC/mac would be next if we do.

I think you might be taking our comment about there being no ads? This is not the same thing...ads would be content unrelated to any party making the game...what's in there is promotions.

↑Nitrome on Twitter:
[7]: @skrimfid were [sic] trying ads on the people that downloaded Icebreaker during the free promotion. People who paid [sic] don't see the ads., 27 Sep 2014, retrieved 1 Oct 2014.

↑ 95.095.195.2Nitrome on Twitter:
[8]: or we might just remove the ads soon...it was meant as a test for the feasibility of the free games we put out recently., 27 Jan 15, retrieved 27 Jan 15.

↑Nitrome on Twitter:
[9]: eah we tried to make an update with a way to get rid of them via IAP. We had some issues with it though. Well [sic]fix it soon., 27 Jan 15, retrieved 27 Jan 15.

↑Ice Breaker iOS website - update #5: Characters - You (nameless hero) / Viking on the longboat...Following the great wind that sweeps through the village he along with the village chief are the only two remaining!...He starts the game taking part in the annual Hammerfest competition to become the slave...err... we mean apprentice of his idol the Cutting Master!

↑Nitrome blog: - Our Big Icebreaker News - Rovio Stars! → The App Store is all about exposure, games are cheap so you need lots and lots... and LOTS of people to know about your game in order to get up the charts. It's only once you chart that anyone outside your fan base will ever hear about you!

↑Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage - Updates - Update #11 God Powers → "So how do you get these cool sounding powers? Simple that would be via a handy shop keeper we placed in the game! For small amounts of money....wait? IAP? Your [sic] charging real money?"

They [God Powers] are consumable [,] you buy a certain number of them. You can buy them in packs of a single power or in packs with all 3 powers in.

↑ Icebreaker A Viking Voyage website - Updates: Final Update → CommentNitrome (Mod) Gianni HoffsteddeWell they are the publisher! Plus we get ads within Angry Birds! More than a fair trade me thinks and I'm sure it has been a key factor in getting us the exposure we needed to climb the charts!

(bolded sentence implies Nitrome allowed Rovio to allow ads in the game in exchange for ads in Angry Birds)

We love Nintendo, huge fans. But the 3DS has tiny resolutions compared to iOS and smartphones. Meaning completely new graphics and level layouts would be necessary (not a small amount of work)

The comment

↑Comment by Mysterious wikian: Perhas it is time to try a free ap on Amazon. Endless doves, roler polar and platform panic are good starts. Also remember about your connections. And why dont apply for free app of the day?

Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome:
Platform Panic is out next week! → comment by Nitrome: Actually we already had Icebreaker in their Free App of the day program and to be fair we did have nearly 100k downloads which is pretty decent., 13 Dec 14, retrieved 13 Dec 14.